


Stay the Same (Change It All)

by dreamerfreak



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23791483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerfreak/pseuds/dreamerfreak
Summary: In a foreign country, two enemies end up sheltering from riots together. A tentative sharing of space might lead to the realization that they have more in common than they thought.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 20
Kudos: 59
Collections: Yoi Selfcest Etc Fest 2020





	Stay the Same (Change It All)

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for Day 4 of YoI Selfcest Etc. Fest, with the prompt: Stuck in Isolation Together. To see more wonderful stories based on the prompts, check out the Collection. For art, see the [Twitter account](https://twitter.com/yoiselfcestfest)! I hope you enjoy this little adventure with Yuuri and Viktor.
> 
> As always, a million thanks to the Mad Hatters for helping, making me laugh, and giving lots of virtual hugs. Much love to Aze in particular for reading and screaming at me. 💖

Yuuri rushed through the streets of the capital city of Hsilgne while trying not to look like he was rushing. He tried not to look as suspicious as he felt, but every time he caught a glimpse of green out of the corner of his eye, he had to stifle a flinch. There weren’t many guards in the residential area of the city yet, but they were coming. He had to find someplace to hide, quickly.

The streets got twistier and dingier the further he got from the marketplace where he had first heard the news. A group of Hsilgen citizens were staging a protest today, and the guard was out in force to keep things peaceful. If Yuuri had been back in his home country of Napaj, he might have been more interested in learning about the protests, but he wasn’t back home. He was in Hsilgne illegally, and the authorities would not be pleased to discover that Napaj’s Minister of Foreign Relations was skulking about their country. Hsilgne may be neutral in the war between Napaj and Aissur, but part of that neutrality meant that high-ranking government and military officials weren’t welcome without special invitation.

In short, Yuuri wasn’t supposed to be here, and it wouldn’t be good if he were found, both for Napaj and himself. Empress Okukawa would be highly displeased to discover that he was in Hsilgne, and much worse if she realized _why_.

Yuuri was trying to figure out a way to stop the war.

It wasn’t that the Empress was against peace. But she would not give in to a settlement easily, not at this point. Things had gone on too long, damage had been done on both sides. It was more a grudge match than an actual conflict at this point. It had been going on since Yuuri had been very young himself, and he hadn’t thought anything of the war until recently. But the latest development was too much. Taking civilians prisoner along with soldiers had forced Yuuri to stop and reconsider what had been a background to his entire life. And when his position demanded that he investigate some of the claims of prisoner accord violations and abuse… Well, Yuuri had to spend some time questioning things he had taken for granted up till now.

Right now, though, the exact details of the war weren’t his top priority. He needed to find a place to hide until the guards went back to their usual duties. Yuuri was too obviously Napajin and he couldn’t afford to be stopped for questioning. His identity papers wouldn’t hold up to official scrutiny.

At the end of an alleyway filled with nothing more than debris and a couple of rats, he found a precariously leaning shack, the door jammed shut and a tangle of half rotted wood pallets heaped in front of it. After a quick peek around revealed no prying eyes, he shifted aside the mess just enough to jerk the door open and slip inside.

The interior was dim as Yuuri dragged the door closed and leaned back against it with a ragged sigh. Light seeped in through a few cracks in the walls and a couple of holes in the ceiling, but much of the room was draped in shadows. The musty smell of disuse and the cloud of dust that he had disturbed with his entrance reassured him that the place was abandoned, enough that he could take his time catching his breath and settling his racing heart.

After a couple of minutes, Yuuri pulled his bag off his shoulder and fumbled about inside for the flint and candle he kept for emergencies. He nearly fumbled and dropped it the second he got it lit, though, because on the other side of the room, sitting with a cool smile, was a man casually holding a long dagger.

Yuuri froze for a moment, watching the other warily, but the man didn’t move, just continued to watch. The candlelight gilded him, and it took Yuuri a few seconds of observation to realize that his hair was pale silvery gray and not blond. The bright blue eyes registered next, and that could really only mean one thing: he was from Aissur.

It was immediately clear that he could have killed Yuuri the second he bumbled through the door, but he hadn’t. Gingerly, Yuuri dropped his pack to the floor and slid down the door until he was sitting, still staring at the stranger.

It was quiet for a few minutes, but eventually the man relaxed his ready grip on his dagger and allowed it to fall into his lap. “Hello,” he said softly, speaking in Hsilgne. His accent was obvious, but then, with his looks he wouldn’t be passing for Hsilgen anytime soon. He must be here legally, a normal Aissurian citizen… but if that was true, why was he hiding?

As his thoughts spiraled, Yuuri forgot to respond, staring mutely at the Aissurian. Growing impatient, the man continued, “You’re Napajin. I’m Aissurian. And we both appear to be hiding. The guards out in force is so inconvenient, huh?” He cocked his head and gave a sardonic grin.

Yuuri released a huff of laughter before he could stop himself.

“My name is Viktor,” he said calmly. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. What say we come to an… understanding?”

With a sigh, Yuuri nodded. “I’m…” He hesitated for a moment before giving his real name. It was doubtful that anyone would link Minister Katsuki to the bedraggled Yuuri sneaking though Hsilgne though. “I’m Yuuri. Nice to meet you, Viktor.” He couldn’t stop the small snicker as his adrenaline leached out, leaving him feeling overtired and giddy.

“Yuuri. That’s a nice name,” Viktor said, and he slipped his dagger out of sight. Yuuri let his head thump back against the door as his energy drained out in a rush.

~*~

A couple of hours passed in mostly awkward silence. Eventually, Yuuri couldn’t take the stillness anymore. He was exhausted after the last few days of skulking around and trying to dig up information on potential allies in his newfound quest to put a stop to the war. If he sat here any longer, he was going to fall asleep, and although Viktor had behaved so far, that didn’t mean that Yuuri trusted him. He stood up and stretched, then started exploring the dark corners of the room. He unburied a rusty lantern from under a broken table, but a quick shake proved it was empty and therefore useless. With a sigh, he set it aside. It was starting to near dusk, and the dim interior would soon be pitch black, something that Yuuri was not looking forward too. It was going to be a long night.

He heard a rustle behind him and turned his head enough to see that Viktor had shifted away from the wall to get at the pack he had been leaning against. He rummaged for a minute before pulled out a jar with a triumphant “ha!” He turned to find Yuuri watching him and grinned. “Pass that lantern over, will you?” he asked, raising the jar and giving it a little sloshing shake.

Yuuri picked up the lantern again and approached slowly, holding it out at arm’s length when he was close enough. Viktor snagged it without care and busily set about filling the reservoir with oil. Yuuri wondered if he was really as unconcerned as he appeared to be, or if he was just better at hiding it than Yuuri was. Either way, soon the lantern was glowing and the small room was lit up clearly, the corners shedding their shadows at last. Surprisingly, a moth-eaten pallet and blanket was still shoved away in one corner, although Yuuri hoped they wouldn’t need it. He didn’t want to imagine what kind of critters inhabited it. Other than that, the room had nothing but some piles of broken junk lurking about, although it was possible that something else useful was buried underneath. At least they had light for now.

Poking about in the junk piles now feeling rather useless, Yuuri instead took to pacing the far side of the room from Viktor. He fought to stifle his yawns, but a few slipped through, even as the light outside got darker and the air chillier. Yuuri startled when Viktor spoke again.

“You can sleep if you want. I won’t do anything.” When Yuuri glanced over, Viktor wasn’t even looking at him. He had pulled a small book out of his bag and was leaning close to the lantern, writing neatly with a stub of pencil. When Yuuri didn’t respond, he paused and looked up. “Truce, right?”

Yuuri felt his shoulders sag before he even realized he made the decision. He was so exhausted. “Yes,” he agreed solemnly. “Truce.”

Viktor smiled softly and turned back to his little book, leaving Yuuri to try to make himself comfortable on the splintery wooden floor. Despite the discomfort of the floor, and the lumpiness of the pack acting as his pillow, it only took Yuuri a few minutes to fall asleep, drifting off to the soft scratches of pencil against paper.

~*~

When he woke again, it was because he was shivering. Despite his hopes, the temperature had dropped during the night. The lantern had been turned out, and the pitch blackness made him doubt whether he had his eyes open for long moments as he blinked hard. He could hear the steady sounds of breathing from the other side of the room, where Viktor lay sleeping with apparently no worries about the chill in the air. Yuuri tucked his hands into his armpits and tried to curl into a ball to conserve warmth, but the cold floor beneath him seemed to mock his efforts. He blinked again, trying to will his eyes to focus on something in the darkness, and attempted to visualize where he had seen the musty blanket earlier this evening. Which corner was it again? How many shuffling steps away?

Rather than risk a noisy tumble, he shuffled across the floor on his knees, clearing his path of debris as he went. When his hand found the wall, however, he still hadn’t encountered the blanket he remembered seeing. He shuffled around some more, patting at the floor, until he bumped into the connecting wall. With a sigh, he brushed his hands against his shirt to try to rid them of the sticky dust they had collected. He must have misremembered the location of the blanket. Unless he wanted to stumble over Viktor on his way to the other side of the room, it seemed best to just give up now.

“R’you looking for somethi’?”

Yuuri startled so hard he toppled backward onto his butt, sending up an invisible cloud of dust that immediately invaded his sinuses. This set off a sneezing fit that took all his focus for a minute or two. By the time he was finished, Viktor was apparently thoroughly awake.

“Are you all right?”

Scrubbing his nose with his sleeve, Yuuri sighed again. “Sorry for waking you. I was just looking for the blanket I saw earlier.”

“Oh.”

For a moment, Yuuri thought that was the end of the conversation, and he started scooting backward to his original position.

“We can share.”

It was only by sheer luck that Yuuri didn’t fall flat on his back at that. “I— what?”

“I grabbed it earlier,” he continued. “The blanket. But we can share it, if you want? Or, no, you can just—”

“That’s fine,” Yuuri said at the same time. “You can keep—”

They both paused, but neither continued for a moment.

“Yuuri. Let’s just share, okay?”

Hesitantly, Yuuri righted himself and crawled toward Viktor’s voice. It felt strange, like he was willingly giving himself over to enemy hands. But Viktor had done nothing to hurt him so far, and he’d had opportunity. So Yuuri felt his way closer to the Aissurian and let himself be tugged under his arm, the blanket sweeping around them both.

The first few minutes were awkward, and Yuuri was abruptly glad that it was so dark that he couldn’t see Viktor’s face. That Viktor couldn’t see his face, which had surely turned bright red in embarrassment. But soon after, the warmth began to sink into his bones, and his shivering slowed to the occasional shudder. They didn’t say anything more before Yuuri drifted off to sleep again, finally warmed through.

~*~

When Yuuri woke the next morning, he was alone. The blanket had been tucked around him, and his pack had been moved to pillow his head, but Viktor and his bag were gone, with no trace that he had ever been there except for the lingering warmth against Yuuri’s skin.

The sun was up enough to brighten the inside of the shack to a dim glow, but the chill of the morning still lingered, evidenced by the clouds that floated around Yuuri’s face and fogged his spectacles as he exhaled. Having gotten used to the musty smell of the blanket, he pulled it a little tighter, deciding to wait a little longer before leaving. If Viktor had left, perhaps things had already calmed down in the city, but there was no need to rush. It could wait.

He had only just resigned himself to this, when the door was shoved open and Yuuri scrambled to right himself and find his hidden knife. The glare of sunlight on pale hair before Viktor leaned back against the door to push it closed made Yuuri relax again. Viktor was panting as he slumped against the door and dropped his bag to the floor, in a strange reversal of the night before.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I was going to let you have some space, but… I don’t think we’re going anywhere for the next few days.”

When he glanced up, shaking his hair out of his eyes, Yuuri had to stifle a gasp. Someone had clearly attacked Viktor, and it didn’t look like they had just used bare fists. A bruise was beginning to flare up in bright reds and darker purples across half of his face, and his left eye was already mostly swollen shut. A deep cut next to his eye was still bleeding sluggishly, but the blood had already been smeared across his cheek and into his hair, making the whole sight rather gruesome. Yuuri gaped for a minute, not awake enough yet to process what he was seeing.

Viktor met his horrified gaze and grimaced. “Don’t worry,” he said, lifting his hands placatingly. “I made sure that I didn’t lead them here! I just didn’t know where else I could hide. I’m sorry.”

Yuuri shook his head mutely, not sure how to express that that wasn’t his concern. “You should…” He cleared his throat when the words came out so roughly they sounded garbled. “You should get that cleaned up,” he muttered, slowly shedding his blanket cocoon.

Viktor touched his face and grimaced when his fingers came away wet with blood. “Ah. Yes. Too bad I hadn’t refilled my water before things escalated.”

Yuuri dug through his pack for a minute before pulling out a water jug, still half full. He contemplated just tossing it to Viktor, but that seemed unnecessarily cruel at the moment… and with one eye swollen shut, seemed likely to just end up with spilled water on the dirty floor. Instead he sacrificed his second shirt and tore off a strip of cloth before standing and crossing the room to kneel in front of Viktor.

Viktor’s one working eye was wide as Yuuri settled in front of him without a word and started gently cleaning the blood from his face and hair. They were both silent as Yuuri dabbed at the cut with the damp cloth, trying to work out the dirt that had already found its way into the scabbing wound. Yuuri wasn’t entirely sure why he was doing this, why he hadn’t just carried the cloth and water over to Viktor and let him do it himself. But now that he had started it felt even more awkward to stop, even as his face blushed red. There was no darkness to hid behind this time.

It was only when Yuuri was back on his side of the room that he finally broke the silence. “What happened?”

Viktor sighed, leaving off his ginger exploration of his bruised face. “Apparently the protests sparked a counter-protest, and things have escalated. The group I ran into didn’t even bother to ask any questions once they saw my hair. I don’t pass for Hsilgen unfortunately.” He chuckled, but it was a rough sound. “The guards are out in force, but it’s not stopping people. I saw quite a few fights on my way back here, and I don’t think everyone was as lucky as I was in getting away. And I don’t think it will have calmed down in a few hours either.”

Yuuri hefted his water jug, which was almost empty now. “I’ll have to go out soon, but hopefully I’ll be able to pass a little easier.” Yuuri didn’t look Hsilgen either, but hopefully in the dark and from a distance, he could at least manage to get some water from one of the public fountains without issue. Viktor nodded in acknowledgment, but the pain of his injuries seemed to be setting in, judging by the way he winced and shifted out of the sunlight that was leaking through the holes in the ceiling.

The rest of the day passed quietly. The shack soon warmed up enough that Yuuri didn’t need the blanket anymore—Viktor hadn’t asked again to share, and Yuuri hadn’t offered. But not long after, Viktor made a pillow with the folded up blanket and laid down to sleep the afternoon away. Yuuri’s supplies of food were meager, and unless Viktor had something unexpected hiding in that bag of his, Yuuri would need to try to find some food on tonight’s venture as well. It was possible, of course, that Viktor was wrong, and this riot would be blown over by tonight, but strangely enough, Yuuri had no reason to doubt him.

The later in the day it got, the more obvious it became that Viktor was very right. Even in their dank little corner of the city, Yuuri could hear the occasional shouting. A particularly loud burst of argument not too far away jerked Viktor from his sleep with a gasp and then a groan. The protests were spreading.

As it started to get dark, Yuuri pulled on his cloak and pulled the hood as far forward as he could. It was starting to get chilly again as the sun set, which at least gave him an excuse to wear it. Better to look a little suspicious than to show off his Napajin features. Viktor eyed him as he got ready, gathering his pack and empty water jug. “Do you have a water jug to fill?” Yuuri asked, turning to Viktor once he felt he was ready.

Viktor pulled two out of his pack and handed them over wordlessly. Yuuri was yanking open the door, when he heard the quiet words behind him. “Be careful out there, Yuuri.”

Yuuri didn’t look back but he nodded firmly as he squeezed out the door and pulled it shut behind him.

~*~

By the time Yuuri made it back safely with water and some additional food supplies, it was late and he was cold. Viktor was curled under the blanket at the far side of the room, the lantern flickering dimly nearby. Yuuri dropped his heavy pack with a soft thump that made Viktor stir but not wake. He was exhausted. The excursion had gone well, but it had been stressful as well, trying to avoid all the people and guards still out and about without looking suspicious and like he was _trying_ to avoid them. Safe in their little hideout once more, his tense muscles started to relax and the shivers hit him hard as the cold air penetrated.

Without much thought, he struggled out of his boots, wrapped his cloak a little tighter, and burrowed under the smelly blanket with Viktor, letting out a sigh of relief at the instant feeling of warmth seeping into his skin. He reluctantly stuck one arm out of their cocoon long enough to douse the lantern, and then he was asleep in moments.

~*~

Waking up snuggled up under Viktor’s arm was awkward. Yuuri blushed when he realized the Viktor was already awake and watching him, and squirmed to extricate himself from the tangled mess of cloak and blanket. He pretended to look through his pack for something while ignoring Viktor and the lingering feeling of arms wrapped comfortably around his waist.

“Sorry,” Viktor murmured from behind him. “I wasn’t sure how late you were out last night, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“It’s fine,” Yuuri muttered, still digging mindlessly through his bag. “Are you hungry? I got some food last night.”

Viktor shuffled into a sitting position, moving gingerly. His beating from yesterday must have gotten more than just his face, but Yuuri didn’t feel comfortable asking. “I still have some supplies, but I wouldn’t mind some water.”

Yuuri huffed and started pulling out the things he had stolen the night before. “Don’t be ridiculous. I got plenty for both of us.” He pushed Viktor’s heavy water jugs back over to him, along with some only-slightly stale bread and a chunk of cured ham. What he had managed to find might not be very impressive, but it was filling and would last a few more days if they needed it to. He hoped they wouldn’t need it to.

Even though it was still early, only a dim blue-tinted light starting to filter into the shack, Yuuri could already hear the sound of shouting in the distance. The riots hadn’t calmed down yet. Hopefully by tomorrow things would have been contained enough for them to go their separate ways. He glanced at Viktor in time to see him stuff a wad of bread into his mouth with a quiet moan and quickly looked away again. The whole situation was just… uncomfortable.

The morning passed quietly. Viktor pulled his little book out of his pack again and did some writing, and Yuuri kept his distance and tried to disappear into the wall for a while. Eventually, Viktor put his book away and shifted restlessly for a few minutes before breaking the quiet.

“So, why are you in Hsilgne?”

Yuuri froze, staring at Viktor in shock. He had thought they had come to some sort of unspoken agreement about this. That when they had declared their truce, they also agreed not to discuss why either of them was here, sneaking around the country illegally. He couldn’t think of any kind of response.

Luckily, Viktor didn’t seem to need one. “I smuggled in a book of poetry for a friend of mine. He’s desperately in love, you see.”

“P-poetry?” Yuuri’s brain stuttered over the unexpected information.

“Yes, poetry!” Viktor said brightly. “Ridiculous, isn’t it? But they’re limiting so much written material from Aissur right now, and this book was among them. Georgi insisted that it _had_ to be this book.”

Yuuri stared open-mouthed at Viktor. “You… you entered Hsilgne illegally for a _book_? Of _poetry_?”

Viktor just gave a broad grin. “Love is something that shouldn’t be stopped by borders, don’t you think?” He watched Yuuri with bright, guileless eyes.

Without thinking, Yuuri did the unthinkable and blurted out, “I’m here looking for a way to end the war.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them.

Viktor’s expression didn’t change, though, and he nodded knowingly. “I wondered about that.”

“H-how did you—”

“I looked through your bag when you were sleeping.”

Yuuri resisted the urge to flee until the adrenaline surge passed, leaving him feeling exhausted in its wake. He clenched his fists at his sides where Viktor couldn’t easily see and tried to stay calm, even as a spike of anger rose and settled. They had agreed on a truce, and it felt like Viktor had betrayed him, even though they hardly knew each other. It was the logical thing for Viktor to do, but still…

Yuuri took a breath and blew it out slowly. “All right. You looked through my bag.”

Viktor was watching cautiously from his side of the room, clearly having sensed Yuuri’s anger. “Yes. I thought some of your notes and ideas were interesting.”

Letting his head fall forward, Yuuri regretted having written anything down in the last few days, even if he had thought it mostly safe being written in Napajin. While it was fairly easy to find people who spoke the language, those who could read it were few and far between outside of Napaj. “Wait, you read Napajin?” Yuuri glanced up at Viktor again in surprise.

“Mm, yes. It was… part of my training.” Viktor took a deep breath as if to brace himself. “I’m Viktor Nikiforov, and I’m a major in the Aissurian army.”

Yuuri’s eyes went wide. He had _heard_ of Major Nikiforov. He was an up-and-coming young soldier who had powered through the ranks in a way that belied his age. People speculated that he would make general in a few more years. And here he was, sitting in a dank shack in Hsilgne, hiding from the authorities because he smuggled in a book of poetry for a lovesick friend.

Viktor’s smile was getting more and more tentative as Yuuri failed to respond. So Yuuri braced himself and fully introduced himself as well. “My name is Yuuri Katsuki, and I’m Empress Okukawa’s Foreign Relations Minister.” He bowed his head as best he could while sitting. “It is an unexpected pleasure to meet you, Major Nikiforov.”

Viktor’s eyes began to sparkle. “And you, Minister Katsuki. I’m acquainted with some of your past work. But I’ll admit to being more interested in your present endeavors. It looks like we still have a few days in each other’s company. Perhaps we could discuss things more in depth?”

With a growing feeling of strange exuberance, Yuuri scooted across the floor to sit next to Viktor and pulled out his tattered pages of notes and ideas. With the rising sounds of fighting in the background, they began to plot.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't hate me. 🙈 There _is_ a plan to write this longfic, which actually takes place a few years after this oneshot, when the plans that they make now are finally going down. When the opportunity came up to write a little bit about their first meeting, I couldn't resist! I'm hoping to start writing the longfic fairly soon, but life is crazy right now, as we all know. If you want to be notified when I start, you can subscribe to my profile. I hope you all have a wonderful week, enjoy the other stories and art, and stay safe! 💖


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